''Formula for a Murder'' () is a 1985 Italian ''giallo'' film co-written and directed by

Alberto De Martino Alberto De Martino (12 June 1929 – 2 June 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Rome, De Martino started as a child actor and later returned to the cinema where worked as a screenwriter, director and dubbing supervis ...

. The film was shot in Boston and Italy, and was one of the last films directed by De Martino. When it was released in Italy, it war marketed as a more traditional horror film, while retrospective analysis compared it to 1960s thrillers such as ''

Taste of Fear ''Taste of Fear'' (U.S. title: ''Scream of Fear'') is a 1961 British Thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Seth Holt. The film stars Susan Strasberg, Ronald Lewis (actor), Ronald Lewis, Ann Todd, and Christopher Lee in a supporting role. ...

'' (1961).

Plot

A handsome teacher named Craig marries a wealthy, wheelchair-using woman named Joanna who suffers from

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

and is tormented by a traumatic event that happened in her past. As a child, she was raped by a psychotic priest and thrown down a flight of stairs. The priest used a doll to lure her to the crime scene. Her attractive female caretaker Ruth has a lesbian attraction to her and tries to stop the marriage. As if Joanna doesn't have enough problems, her husband only married her to steal her money. He is trying to stop her from donating one-half of her wealth to a church project to which her deceased father committed her while upon his deathbed. One by one, priests start turning up dead, as the murder plot unfolds. One priest has his throat cut while in a confession booth, another has his head bashed in with a heavy blunt object. Joanna's doctor warns her that she has a bad heart and that she shouldn't allow herself to get overly agitated nor too aroused during sex. Joanna begins to experience hallucinations in which she sees a leering priest stalking her while holding a bloody doll in his hands.

Cast

David Warbeck David Warbeck (born David Mitchell; 17 November 1941 – 23 July 1997) was a New Zealand actor and model best known for his roles in European exploitation and horror films. A native of Christchurch, New Zealand, Warbeck became involved in loca ...

as Craig * Christina Nagy as Joanna * Carroll Blumenberg as Ruth *

Rossano Brazzi Rossano Brazzi (18 September 1916 – 24 December 1994) was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He was known for playing roles that typified the suave, romantic leading man archetype, both in his native country and in Hollywood. ...

as Doctor Sernich *

Andrea Bosic Andrea Bosic (15 August 1919 – 8 January 2012) was an Italian film actor of Slovene origin. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1951 and 1985, mainly in films called Spaghetti Westerns. He has appeared in films alongside John Phill ...

as Father Peter Farlow * as Father Davis * Daniela De Carolis * Rodolfo Ruzza * Adriana Giuffrè

Production

''Formula for a Murder'' was filmed under the title ''Formula per un delitto''. It was shot in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

with interiors scenes done in Italy. Director

stated he initially wanted to cast two young Italian actors:

Valeria Golino Valeria Golino (born 22 October 1965) is an Italian actress and film director. She is best known to English-language audiences for her roles in '' Rain Man'', '' Big Top Pee-wee'', and '' Hot Shots!'', where she performed the "olive-in-the-belly ...

and Nancy Brilli, but his casting choices were rejected by producer Fabrizio De Angelis. Both were replaced with American actors while the Golino and Brilli went on to have prominent careers in Italy. De Martino described the film as his own variation on the film '' The Postman Always Rings Twice''. Historians and critics Adrian Luther-Smith and Roberto Curti both pointed out that the film closer resembled the

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

production ''

'' (1961) more. Historian Troy Howarth echoed this statement saying that the film "harkens back to the "women in peril" thrillers of the 1960s" and "does not enter into the excessive spirit of the other ''gialli'' of the period." The film was one of De Martino's final productions, as he retired from directing in the mid-1980s.

Release

''Formula for a Murder'' was released in 1985. In Italy, it was released as ''7, Hyden Park – La casa maledetta''. Film critic and historian Roberto Curti stated this title was more akin to being an "out-and-out horror film" like ''

The Evil Dead ''The Evil Dead'' is a 1981 American independent film, independent supernatural horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker ...

'' (1981) which was released in Italy as ''La casa''. De Martino was reportedly unhappy with the film, being constrained by an eighteen day shooting schedule. The film was released in Greece on home video as ''Formula For a Murder''. It was released on DVD by Shameless Screen Entertainment.

Reception

In a contemporary review from ''

Corriere della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...

'', the film is praised for its well conceived screenplay, but the second part of the film is criticized for its descent into ''

grand guignol The Théâtre du Grand-Guignol () was a theater in the Pigalle district of Paris (7, cité Chaptal). From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962, it specialized in horror shows. Its name is often used as a general term for graphic, amor ...

'' and its loss of tension, which reduces the film to a duel/game between victim and murderer. From retrospective reviews, in his book about Italian thriller films, ''Blood & Black Lace'', Adrian Luther-Smith found the film to be an "enjoyably over-the-top exercise in grand guignol" and compared it to 's ', stating that the film "demonstrates how similarly themed material can be ruined by a static attitude." Curti stated in his book on Italian ''

giallo In Italian cinema, (; : ; from , ) is a genre that often contains Slasher film, slasher, thriller (genre), thriller, psychological horror, psychological thriller, Sexploitation film, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural, supernat ...

'' that the film exposes its villain early at the half an hour mark and that

"hams it up shamelessly" towards the third act, resembling a "

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

-wannabe". In his book ''So Deadly, So Perverse'' on giallo, Troy Howarth stated that the film "not exactly loaded with surprises" while stating that the "murders are surprisingly brutal and bloody".

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

* {{Fabrizio De Angelis 1985 thriller films English-language Italian films 1985 films Films directed by Alberto De Martino Films scored by Francesco De Masi 1980s English-language films 1980s Italian films Films shot in Boston Foreign films set in the United States Giallo films English-language thriller films